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Enantioselective analysis of venlafaxine and its active metabolites: A review on the separation methodologies
Author(s) -
Hancu Gabriel,
Lupu Daniela,
Milan Andreea,
Budău Monica,
BarabásHajdu Enikő
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
biomedical chromatography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.4
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1099-0801
pISSN - 0269-3879
DOI - 10.1002/bmc.4874
Subject(s) - venlafaxine , chemistry , enantiomer , reuptake inhibitor , chromatography , enantioselective synthesis , capillary electrophoresis , pharmacokinetics , serotonin , pharmacology , antidepressant , stereochemistry , biochemistry , receptor , medicine , neuroscience , hippocampus , catalysis , biology
Venlafaxine (VFX) is a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor chiral drug used in therapy as an antidepressant in the form of a racemate consisting of R ‐ and S ‐VFX. The two enantiomers of VFX exhibit different pharmacological activities: R ‐VFX inhibits both norepinephrine and serotonin synaptic reuptake, whereas S ‐VFX inhibits only the serotonin one. R ‐ and S ‐VFX are metabolized in the liver to the respective R ‐ and S ‐ O ‐desmethylvenlafaxine (ODVFX), R ‐ and S ‐ N ‐desmethylvenlafaxine (NDVFX), and R ‐ and S ‐ N ,O‐didesmethylvenlafaxine (NODVFX). The pharmacological profile of ODVFX is close to that of VFX, whereas the other two chiral metabolites (NDVFX and NODVFX) have lower affinity for the receptor sites. The pharmacokinetics of the VFX enantiomers appear stereoselective, including the metabolism process. In the past 20 years, several studies describing the enantioselective analysis of R ‐ and S ‐VFX in pharmaceutical formulations and its chiral metabolites in biological matrices were published. These methods encompass liquid chromatography coupled with UV detection, mass spectrometry, or tandem mass spectrometry, and capillary electrophoresis. This paper reviews the published methods used for the determination of the individual enantiomers of VFX and its chiral metabolites in different matrices.